New | Ping An overtakes Allianz as world’s most valuable insurance brand, survey finds

China’s Ping An Insurance (Group) has surpassed Germany’s Allianz AG as the world’s most valuable insurance brand, the first time a mainland Chinese company has risen to the apex of the 100 most valuable companies worldwide, according to Britain’s Brand Finance.

Ping An, the second-biggest Chinese insurer by premium income, has a brand value estimated at US$16 billion in 2017, a 29 per cent increase from last year, according to Brand Finance. The brand value of Allianz fell 7 per cent to US$15 billion to take second spot.

China Life Insurance, the country’s largest life insurer by premium, stayed unchanged in the third place with a brand valued of US$10.3 billion.

Brand Finance calculates brand value using the royalty relief method, which determines the value a company is willing to pay to license the brand as if it did not own it.

“Ping An has lofty ambitions, aiming to become the world’s leading provider of personal finance,” said David Haigh, chief executive of Brand Finance. “Based on this evidence, in the long term it may not be an unrealistic goal.”

Ping An, based in Shenzhen and Shanghai, reported a record profit of US$9 billion last year. Headed by founder and chairman Peter Ma Mingzhe, the insurer has grown into a sales network of 1.1 million insurance agents since its establishment in 1988.